The Processor
by NuclearForce
Summary: AU. Jonas, having barely managed to escape from the Community, recieves a strange message from the Giver. Meanwhile, his sister Lily has an odd encounter with a hedgehog-like creature. What is its secret? My first Giver fanfic. Please R&R!
1. The Chaos Blast

**12:48 AM, November 17, 2661**

**5 kilometers beyond the edge of the Community**

Jonas pedaled steadily away from the Community that he had known all his life as the moon rose slowly but unfailingly toward the top of the sky. Every now and then he would screech to a halt and stand absolutely still, just in case the search planes that were looking for him were watching from up above and not from the shadows of his imagination alone.

_Thank goodness I even _have _an imagination_, Jonas thought. _I certainly didn't have much of one before the Giver transferred all those memories to me. Speaking of the Giver, I wonder how he's managing back there after we telepathically transmitted that information to the rest of the population._

Jonas' question did not go unanswered for long. A minute or so later, Jonas felt an immense heat at his back. He pulled the handbrake of the bicycle and turned his head to see what was causing the wave of thermal energy. To his surprise, an immense beam of white light was shooting up from the center of the Community, and it appeared to have spawned an energy shockwave that was spreading out rapidly. Jonas noticed that the new child riding in the carrier seat of the bicycle, Gabe, felt it too. He squirmed in his cushioned seat as the energy wave approached. Already Jonas could see and hear the struts of the bridge at the edge of the Community groaning and collapsing under the immense power of the wave. Jonas whipped his head back around and pedaled as fast as he could away from the Community, although he knew that the bike could not outrace the rapidly growing destructive force.

Suddenly, out of nowhere, Jonas felt a telepathic flash in the back of his mind. He had felt such a flash before, when the words for things he perceived in memories, like _sunshine _and _snow_, came to him. It was the Giver trying to contact him! Even over this immense distance, he could still communicate with Jonas! He was amazed. Jonas concentrated, trying to understand the vague message. All he could make out were two words:

_Chaos Control._

_And lots of it_, Jonas thought.

Then the shockwave caught up with Jonas' bike and the world went black.

**12:34 AM, November 17, 2661**

**Jonas' former dwelling**

Lily was awakened by a strange sound and a bright light outside. She sleepily slid open her eyes and ran over to the window of her sleeping room. Looking outside, she could see a strange creature hovering in the air outside the dwelling. She was too far away to make out the details of its appearance, but from inside it looked almost like a living comfort object, except it was bipedal, almost as tall as her, and at least as massive. Even though she knew it was against the rules for her to go outside during night hours, her curiosity overwhelmed her and she crept out of the room and out the door of the dwelling. She tiptoed closer for a better look.

Now she could see the creature much more easily. It did look slightly like an oversized comfort object, like the one her classmate Angela used to have. It had been called _hedgehog. _Its appendages were longer than the _hedgehog_'s had been, with opposable thumbs on the ends of the arms. Its torso was small compared to the rest of its body, and it had quills covering the back of it. Its head was also very strange, with human-like ears, six large quills on the back, pointing upwards slightly, a small, black nose, and a mouth that seemed to move across its lower face as it changed expressions. And the eyes. There was something very strange about its eyes. They were large, and so close together that they almost connected. But its irises and pupils looked strangely familiar. They were unusually pale, and looked like they belonged to a human. This was impossible, unless… no, it couldn't be…

Lily bolted back inside, not caring if her parents heard her. She threw open the door of Jonas' sleeping room, only to find that he was not there.

"Jonas? Where are you?" Lily called out. "There's something you've got to…"

But there was no response. Jonas was not there.

Lily ran back outside to confront the strange being. "Who are you?" she asked, shaking. "What do you want?"

The creature did not reply. It merely raised a barely-visible eyebrow, and its eyes flashed in, once again, a very familiar way. It then turned its head, gazing at the House of the Old just two blocks from the dwelling, where Jonas had told her the Annex room was. For the first time, Lily noticed that a beam of white light was shooting straight up from the top of the room.

The creature took out a pair of strange-looking gems, one a single shade, the other two shades. It held them up to the sky.

Then it spoke. It spoke in a very strange tone, and when it opened its mouth, two voices seemed to emerge from it. One voice was ominously recognizable, the other was not. Lily did not have time to reflect on this, as when it had finished, the light coming from the Annex room abruptly intensified, and a shockwave of power emerged from it, creating blinding flashes and strange noises. Lily only had time to ponder for a second the meaning of the two words the creature spoke:

"_Chaos… Control!"_

And then the world went black.


	2. The First Evil

**7:43 AM, March 7, 14012 AD**

**Some other dimension**

Jonas' eyes snapped open. His first thought was one questioning where he was. Looking around, he saw a strange-looking landscape. He was lying on a field of grass, with trees bearing large orange fruits. There was a nearby pond of water with jagged rocks sticking up from its center. Looking up, Jonas could see an immense wall of rock, which suggested that he was at the bottom of a cliff. He saw that a large tunnel was carved into the side of the cliff, and standing in the mouth of the tunnel were some of the strangest creatures he had ever seen. They looked extremely unusual with their skinny arms, wide feet, large eyes, pointy black noses, and the spines that grew from their necks and backs. The one at the front of the small group, the one who looked like he was the leader, was especially odd-looking, with bright blue fur and red running shoes on his comically large feet. Also, they were capable of speech. As a matter of fact, they were talking amongst themselves right then.

"It appears the human's awake," a grayish one near the back stated.

"I wonder where he's from. Doesn't look too happy to be here," the blue one replied.

"If he's anything at all, he's shocked. I would be too," contradicted a black one on the far left.

"Excuse me?" Jonas asked. "But where am I? Am I… Elsewhere?"

"I was kinda hoping you would ask. Do you want the long version or the short?" replied the blue one.

"Either one would be fine," stated Jonas.

"You're in a field near Station Square, in the United Federation of Mobius," said the blue hedgehog. "As for what you call Elsewhere, I don't know about that, but you're definitely far away from where you came from, if you had to use Chaos Control to get here."

"Chaos Control? I've heard that term before, but what exactly does it mean?" asked Jonas, standing up.

"You know. The thing where you hold the Chaos Emerald up and think of where you want to go? Does that ring a bell?" replied the gray one.

"No, it doesn't, I'm afraid. And I don't know what a Chaos Emerald is, either," said Jonas. He was feeling stupid, like he had when he had first met the Giver and he was hearing all kinds of strange terms like "snow" and "runners" and "downhill."

"If you don't know what we're talking about, then we can't be of much help to you. At least not like that," stated the black one. "But Sonic here can explain how he found you."

"I was out for my morning run along the track below these cliffs when you appeared out of a Chaos anomaly," informed Sonic. "You were unconscious, and I didn't know what to do with you, so I called Shadow and Silver over to help me."

So that were their names: Sonic, Shadow, and Silver. He figured Silver was the gray one and Shadow was the black one, because of their fur colors.

"And what about the Chaos Emeralds? What are those?" asked Jonas for the second time. He hoped he wasn't being too much of a bother, but he was technically exempt from rudeness, and if the Chaos Emeralds brought him here, then he would need to know more about them if he was to get back.

"Let Shadow explain. He knows the most about these things," replied Sonic.

Shadow stepped forward, taking a deep breath, preparing for the explanation. "The Chaos Emeralds are thirty-eight gems with the ability to gather power from other dimensions. They draw energy from a higher dimension, which gives them strange abilities. They were created about 12,000 years ago when a race of aliens called the Xorda used a special type of bomb to create space-time anomalies all across the planet. These anomalies were most common around a particular mineral-rich area, and some anomalies found their way into emeralds from the area. When you have one emerald, you can use it perform Chaos Control, which allows you to teleport through space. When you have two, you can create electromagnetic energy and cross light-years of space. Chaos Control increases in power and versatility with every emerald added to it, until it gets to full power with seven Emeralds. Each Emerald has special abilities that its user can control," Shadow explained. "We have four Emeralds now. We'll need at least eight if we're going to stop the evil that has been haunting our world for the past month."

"And what evil is that?" Jonas asked. If he could, he was willing to help.

"Ancient scriptures tell about the First Evil," Silver replied. "It's the root of all negative emotions and impulses, and it's incredibly powerful. It can grant people the ability to use the negative energies of the Chaos Emeralds, as opposed to just the positive. The First Evil last appeared twelve thousand years ago, and it destroyed an entire town before it was defeated. It surprises me that a group of humans could stop something so powerful with only one Emerald. Apparently one of the members of the group had a Chaos Emerald in her shop, which was mistaken for a magical item by a teenage girl who helped to stop the First Evil in the end. The girl had surprisingly accurate control over it, being able to absorb its energy and transform into a Dark Super-Form before she was subdued. But that doesn't really matter. The First Evil is back, and it's destroyed several cities already. We need to stop it before it does anything else."

Just as Silver was done explaining, there was a bright flash of light behind the three hedgehogs. A fourth hedgehog appeared behind them, holding two Chaos Emeralds in each hand, a total of four Emeralds. It walked forward, pushing past Shadow, and walked next to Jonas. Jonas noticed that it had strange, pale eyes, just like his. The hedgehog put its hands on Jonas' back, just like the Giver used to do.

"Wait! What are you doing?" Jonas asked. But the creature did not reply. Its eyes simply flashed as its hands begin to glow. Jonas steeled himself for whatever memory the creature might transmit, no matter how painful.

But it was not pain that Jonas received. It was a strange set of images and noises. In the memory, two voices were speaking simultaneously. One sounded like the voice of one of the three hedgehogs, it had the same unearthly tone. The other he couldn't quite make out. It almost sounded like the voice in his own head. While the voices were mumbling incomprehensible phrases, he saw short scenes that seemed to depict events in Sonic's dimension. He saw the First Evil attacking cities, causing anthropomorphic animals everywhere to run for their lives. The First Evil seemed to have no one form, but instead shifted constantly, transforming from one giant anthropomorph to another, never staying the same for more than half a second. He saw Silver holding up an Emerald and using Chaos Control, and he also saw four Emeralds—the same ones in Sonic, Shadow, and Silver's possession—hovering in the air around the mysterious, Giving hedgehog. Now that he thought about it, the ones that he saw the Giving hedgehog holding were the same ones that Sonic, Shadow, and Silver had. That was extremely unusual. How could these objects be in two places at once? After a few minutes of the images, the memory ended, and Jonas fell to the ground.

The hedgehog looked down at Jonas, then held up its four Emeralds and repeated the same phrase he had been hearing for quite a while…

"Chaos… Control!"

It spoke in the same two-toned voice that he had heard in the memory. The hedgehog disappeared in a flash of light.

"Who was that?" asked Jonas.

"Dunno. But it had strange-looking eyes like yours. I assume you noticed that?" asked Sonic.

"It had four emeralds with it! If we can just find where it teleported to, we can use the extra four to defeat the First!" exclaimed Shadow.

"Also, you might find this important," Sonic stated. He held up a squirming newchild. "We found this little guy near where you landed. Do you recognize him?"

"Yes, I do," Jonas replied. He walked over and picked up the newchild. "This is Gabe. He was riding in the child seat of my bicycle when we were hit with a Chaos Control blast."

"Ah, I see. Is he your little brother or something?" asked Silver?"

"Adopted brother," Jonas replied. "Anyway, I would be happy to assist you in your quest, if you need any help. I know I'm not very powerful compared to you guys, if you can defeat the First with only eight Emeralds, but I do know some things about the past from a mentor that taught me a while back."

"We would welcome assistance," Sonic replied. He handed Jonas an Emerald. "This is yours for now. We're not sure about this one's special ability, but it seems powerful. It's easier if we all carry a single Emerald, so no one attracts the First's attention too much."

"We should probably search for a fifth Emerald," Shadow stated. "The passage to Station Square is this way."

And Jonas followed the three hedgehogs into the tunnel.


	3. Seperations and Responsibilities

**7:51 AM, March 7, 14012 AD**

**Forest, United Federation of Mobius**

Jonas and the three hedgehogs had just exited the tunnel and emerged into a lush, forested area. Looking around, Jonas saw several hills off to his left, a small lake over to the right, and directly in front of him, there was large wooden scaffolding with stairs leading up to the top, where a train station and platform were situated, connected to a bridge which led away from the sparse forest.

"This is the train we will take to Station Square. I believe the fifth Emerald is in that vicinity," explained Shadow.

"How does he know where the Emerald is?" asked Jonas.

"Shadow has the innate ability to sense Chaos Energy," replied Silver. Shadow nodded in agreement. "No one's really sure how. Some people say he was born with it, others that he acquired it from spending so much time with a Chaos Emerald when he was young."

Jonas was confused. "You mean when he was young_er_? Because he doesn't look like he's any more than seventeen." Silver was using imprecise language, and Jonas felt it was necessary to correct him.

"Though I may not look it, I'm actually fifty-six years old," replied Shadow. Jonas was about to ask why he looked so young, but Shadow answered the question before it was asked. "I was born and grew up on a scientific space colony. They fed me pills designed to increase my lifespan, and they worked. Tests have proven my life expectancy to be well over 250 years. That's why I'm not married and I don't have many close friends. If I get into any long-term relationships, then…"

"You'll outlive them, and they'll die, while you'll have barely aged two decades their entire life," finished Jonas. Shadow nodded. It was apparently not one of his favorite discussion topics.

A blast of unnecessarily loud noise from a pair of speakers above them signaled that the train would be departing soon. The small group climbed the stairs to the top of the scaffolding and boarded the train.

"It really makes you wonder why Shadow's even willing to befriend us," said Sonic.

"Perhaps he was getting tired of living alone, even if he will outlive us by a century," replied Silver.

Gabriel squirmed. Jonas understood what he was thinking, partly from having Gabriel sleep in his room every night, partly via telepathic contact. The sights and sounds were very unfamiliar, and even somewhat frightening, to a newchild.

"Don't worry, buddy. Everything's going to be fine," Jonas whispered, softly stroking Gabe's back.

"We really should get a babysitter for that kid," Sonic stated. "We don't want him getting hurt, now do we?"

"It probably would be a good idea," Jonas replied as the train pulled out of the station.

**12:49 AM, November 17, 2661**

**5.3 kilometers from the edge of the Community**

A flash of light near a fallen bicycle lying on the road signaled the appearance of a Chaos anomaly. The strange hedgehog-like creature that Jonas and Lily had seen before emerged from it, hovering in the air. After the anomaly closed, its aura faded and it dropped to the ground, its boots hitting the surface of the road with a thump. It took out four Chaos Emeralds, and held them to the sky, two in each hand, like it had done before. It steeled itself for the pain that was to come.

"Chronos Control. Always a useful thing," it said to itself in its two voices, one unearthly, the other not. It then fed a small amount of its vast power into the Emeralds, causing them to activate and glow with the vibrant colors it could only partially see. Then, wincing, closing its eyes, it concentrated on both Mobius and the spot it was standing on simultaneously, taking one last breath and shouting, "Chaos… Control!" This it said in only a single voice, the less unearthly one, due to the fact that half of its body had already dissipated, along with part of its vocal cord setup. Then it and three of the Emeralds faded away, leaving the last on the ground where the creature had stood, deactivated and drained. Not that there was anyone around who could see the colors it might have been still glowing with, someplace far away, across vast distances of space and time, had one individual been just a little bit smarter.

**8:19 am, March 7, 14012 AD**

**Station Square, United Federation of Mobius**

It took the train about thirty minutes to get to the Station Square stop. The journey was rather uneventful, covering large stretches of forest which eventually gave way to a more densely populated suburban area which gradually grew denser until the train entered the heart of Central City: the bustling Station Square. That was one of the things that surprised Jonas so much about the square: how busy it was. The community he lived in had no real center of travel; the backstreets were used just as much as the main streets for transit. However, unlike in Jonas' community, a large amount of the traffic going from one side of the city to the other passed through the square. Jonas was also surprised at how many cars there were. In his community, cars were used only for carrying those who were disabled and could not pedal, or for carrying freight.

"What are you standing there gawking for?" Sonic asked, yanking Jonas out of his astonishment-induced trance.

"Nothing," replied Jonas. "It's just that this place is a lot busier than my Community was."

"Not everywhere is this busy," Silver said. "This is the busiest area in the city; some say the busiest in the country."

"It's amazing," replied Jonas. He had seen these things in memories before, but never in person.

He noticed that Shadow was looking over at a female hedgehog with light-red fur. She was slightly shorter than the other hedgehogs, with short, drooping quills and smallish ears.

"Who's that?" asked Jonas.

Sonic looked over at the hedgehog as well. "That's Amy. She's a friend of ours. I think she might be able to help us with something…" And he walked over to her.

"Hi, Amy. What's up?" Sonic asked.

"Nothing much. What about you?" she replied.

"Nothing really." Jonas was surprised that Sonic didn't tell her about their hunt for the Chaos Emeralds, but guessed that it was safer if only a select few knew.

"Listen," Sonic continued, "I was wondering if you could do a favor for me. My friend back there"-he pointed to Jonas-"has a little brother to take care of, and he needs to…. run an errand with us. Would you mind babysitting his brother while we're away?"

"I wouldn't mind at all," replied Amy. "I bet Cream will be excited to have a visitor in the house."

"Who's Cream?" asked Jonas.

"Her friend's little sister. She's a rabbit," Silver replied. "She's always liked taking care of small creatures."

Amy departed soon after, taking Gabriel back to her house in the suburbs. Shadow took out his Chaos Emerald and used its power to attempt to sense the presence of a fifth one nearby.

"Are you sure that leaving Gabe in her care is a good idea?" Jonas asked Sonic.

"Sure. Amy's responsible, and she's a good caretaker. Nothing will go wrong. You'll see," came the answer.

Jonas hoped that Sonic's opinion of Amy was accurate as the group set off westward-that was the direction of the nearest Emerald, according to Shadow-in search of one of the only things that could help defeat the looming darkness known as the First Evil.


	4. Metal Super Sonic

**8:51 AM, March 7, 14012 AD**

**Rail Canyon, United Federation of Mobius**

Sonic skidded to a stop, dragging his heels against the granite that made up the floor of the canyon. A few feet ahead of him, Shadow was holding his Emerald out in front of him, trying to detect the exact location of the powerful gem they were attempting to find. A few feet behind him, Silver was coming to a stop, floating down steadily from the air, resting his flying abilities after a long and exhausting journey. Finally, about a hundred feet behind them all, Jonas reached a stop, panting.

"How do you move that fast?" Jonas called out between tired breaths. "A bit faster and I'd say you were running at the speed of sound!"

"We're not _that _fast," Silver replied. "Only half that speed."

Jonas' feet started to wobble with exhaustion and surprise, but he found a boulder to sit down on before he collapsed.

Shadow heard a roaring noise about two hundred feet up. He looked skyward, and so did the other three members of the group. They saw a strange metal object fly overhead, carrying two glowing objects. It slowed to a glide, then to a stop as it landed on a nearby pillar of rock. Even Jonas, who had only been introduced to the objects a few hours ago, recognized what they were.

"It's got two Emeralds!" he exclaimed.

"Thanks, Captain Obvious," Sonic sarcastically replied. "The question is, how do we get up there and grab them?"

Sonic's question did not go unanswered. Silver took flight, spinning his quills and glowing with a bluish aura as he rose up. He noticed that the aircraft carrying the two emeralds was actually a humanoid robot, not much bigger than himself. The robot was similar in appearance to a hedgehog, with similar proportions and the same eye setup. The robot's head and torso were covered in gleaming golden armor, and so were its hands and shins. Its fingers were long and jointed, with small knife-like piercing devices at the ends. Its feet were toeless and smooth, giving the appearance of short boots. Silver recognized the robot immediately. It was one he had hoped to never see again.

"Metal Super!" Silver exclaimed. "What are you doing here? You're supposed to be deactivated and locked in a stasis tube!"

"Who?" Jonas asked Shadow.

"Metal Super Sonic. He was built by an evil scientist to resemble Sonic, and he has all of Sonic's powers, and then some. Fortunately for us, he's not as clever as a true hedgehog, and that allowed us to defeat him last time," Shadow explained.

"Ah, Silver. Sonic. Shadow. It's been a long time," Metal Super said. Jonas was surprised that the robot could speak.

"What do you want?" asked Sonic. "Why are you taking the Emeralds?"

"I want revenge on you and your pathetic technology-retarded civilization," Metal Super replied. "Especially you three, for locking me up in that tube. I was stuck doing nothing but playing Sonic 3 with Silver Sonic II! Do you have any idea how hard it is to beat him in two-player mode?"

"You deserved it," replied Silver.

"Enough! I shall obliterate all of… wait a minute. Who's the fourth guy? Weren't there only three of you last time?"

"I came here to help these hedgehogs in the hunt for the Emeralds, and I'm not giving up without a fight." Jonas replied. He raised his Emerald.

"Jonas, be careful around him," Sonic told him. "We don't even know if you can use Chaos Control yet."

"Enough of this banter," Metal Super interrupted. You have four Emeralds, and I want them. I'm prepared to fight you all for them."

"You're on!" all three hedgehogs replied at once. Immediately, Silver started hovering and put his fists up, Shadow raised his Chaos Emerald, and Sonic crouched down and extended his razor-sharp quills. Jonas, not sure how much he could help, raised his Chaos Emerald.

Metal Super and the others were off in a flash. The battle became a high-speed, high-tech blur as Metal Super used telekinesis to throw boulders at the hedgehogs, Sonic struck Metal again and again with his spines, Shadow hit Metal over and over with energy blasts from his Emerald, and more. Jonas decided that he might as well do something, so he raised his Emerald, concentrated on the spot right behind the robot, and thought to himself, _Chaos Control._

There was an effect, but not one that he had expected. Instead of teleporting, a beam of white light shot straight up from the Emerald, reaching as far up as Jonas could see. The beam intensified rapidly, and a shockwave of energy similar to the one that sent him to this dimension shot out from the Emerald. The blast rapidly approached the battling hedgehogs, organic and robotic alike.

"He used Chaos Control!" exclaimed Silver. "RUN!" He took off flying.

"Get back here, you…" yelled Metal Super. But it was too late. The blast of energy had already hit him, sending him crashing down to the ground from the top of the pillar. When he hit, he stopped moving and his eyes went black.

Sonic and Shadow emerged from the boulder they were hiding behind.

"How did you do that?" Sonic asked Jonas.

"I don't know, but I've seen that blast before. It looked similar to a smaller version of the one I saw back in my own world," Jonas replied.

"It was the Chaos Emerald of Power Scream," Shadow stated. "Its unique power is unleashing a shockwave of energy that spreads Chaos Control over a wide area."

"So that's the one we gave him," said Sonic.

Jonas heard a rushing noise behind him. He wheeled his head around to see what it as. To his surprise, Metal Super was floating above the ground and rising steadily into the air. He pointed this out to the others. Sonic and Shadow looked up in shock. Metal Super was now a humanoid mass of dark energy with glowing yellow eyes.

"The First Evil," Sonic realized with shock.

"But how could it disguise itself as that robot?" Jonas asked.

"The First can change its form to look like any dead person," Shadow replied. "Apparently, it can do the same for deactivated robots."

"Bravo," the First said in a sinister voice. "You've discovered who I am. But that does not change the fact that I need those Emeralds. And you will give them to me."

"Never!" Jonas yelled. He had seen far worse things in his memories.

"In that case, I will take them." The First raised the two Emeralds it possessed and mumbled, "Chaos Control." Three of the Emeralds that the hedgehogs possessed teleported out of their grasp and into the First's. The First raised the Emeralds triumphantly, only to realize that there were only five, and the sixth had not been captured.

"Where's my sixth emerald?" exclaimed the First. It looked down to see that Jonas still had it. "How did you keep it from me? No matter." It raised the Emeralds again, trying to teleport Jonas' emerald over, but raised his own Emerald and shouted, "Chaos Control!" A blast of energy from the Chaos Emerald of Power Scream knocked the First Evil back. It landed on top of a nearby stalagmite and then teleported away.

"Phew. I thought he'd never go away," stated Sonic.

"It may have left us, but it took all but one Emerald," Shadow said. "If it gets eight Emeralds before we do, it'll be unstoppable!"

A whooshing noise above the heads of the group signaled the arrival of Silver. He flew over the wall of the canyon, then descended and dropped down next to Sonic.

"Hey, guys," Silver said. "So, what did I miss?"

**12:56 AM, November 17, 2661**

**The Annex room**

The Giver was exhausted. He had recently performed the most powerful—and dangerous—memory transfer of his life. He, along with the machine known as the Processor that regulated memory transfer, had sent almost all of his memories out into the Community to be Received by the population, leaving only one of each type of memory. Even as he finished the transfer, though, he knew something had gone wrong. There was a lot of energy flowing out there, but he could sense that most of it was not his own. There was something else that was Giving to the population, and he was afraid to find out what it was.

"Hello, Giver."

The Giver whipped his head around to see a strange being hovering in the air behind him. It was a strange, hedgehog-like creature with glowing yellow eyes, surrounded by a purple aura. It almost seemed to be made of dark energy itself.

"Now, old man, tell me," it said in a harsh, sinister voice, "where is the boy called Jonas?"

**TO BE CONTINUED**

In the next exciting chapter of the Processor, you will see and learn some exciting things as the final battle with the First Evil starts up, including:

*Super Sonic

*Dark Super Shadow

*The First Evil's true form

*The mysterious hedgehog from chapters 1-3's name and origins

*And whether our heroes actually have a chance at beating the ultimate evil.


	5. The Perfect First Evil

**12:57 AM, November 17, 2661**

**The Annex room**

Addressing the strange purple creature, the Giver said, "And why is it any of your concern where Jonas is?"

A sphere of dark energy collected around the creature's hand, crackling with electricity. The creature held its hand to the Giver's throat, and replied, "Either you tell me where he or I move my hand a few inches closer. Understand?"

The Giver gulped. He knew that if the being killed him, all his remaining memories would be released. The large amount that he had given the Community already was just short of too much, and if they got the rest, most would go insane. On the other hand, if he told the being what he wanted to know, Jonas could quite possibly be killed. He decided that he should give the creature a vague idea where Jonas was, and then claim that that was all he knew. "He fled the Community a few hours ago, as I instructed. He won't be coming back. I don't know where he went," he stuttered.

The creature's eyes narrowed. "That kid has access to the powers of four Chaos Emeralds under the right circumstances, and I need to know his _exact _location, or else. You're lucky I haven't severed your head already."

The Giver was about to come up with a fake location when another factor entered the situation. It appeared in the form of a voice coming from the speaker behind him. "Did we hear that right, Giver? You _instructed _Jonas to leave the Community _without our permission?_"

The Giver, thinking quickly, made up a cover-story for what had happened. It wasn't very well thought out, but it would have to do. "Speaker, I apologize for being unclear. Jonas is visiting a Receiver in a neighboring community, as I instructed, and he won't be coming back… _until tomorrow. _Everything is fine; you need not worry about his welfare."

It probably would have worked, if not for the purple being hovering in the center of the room. "Oh, come on. You really think they're going to buy that?"

The speaker spoke again. "Giver, telling our last Receiver of Memory candidate to remove himself from the Community is a serious transgression. You will be released for this, you know. Wait… wait a minute. Something's…. AAUGH! What's all this powdery white stuff? And why am I all cold?"

"The shockwave of memories must have reached their control center by now," the purple being hypothesized. "Now, back to our little chat. Jonas is _where_? And if you don't tell me, there will be a large amount of blood _down there._" He glanced at the floor.

"Jonas is… about five kilometers from the edge of the Community," the Giver replied reluctantly. "Go to the eastern bridge, then follow the path leading away from it." He figured that he should tell the truth. If this being could detect cover-stories flawlessly, he could most likely detect lies directed at him.

"Good," the creature replied. "Now that I have the information I need, I have no use for you. Prepare to be obliterated." The creature lunged forward, energy-charged hand extended. The Giver dodged the blow by leaning backward on the couch he was sitting on suddenly. The creature's hand, still charged, punched a hole in the wall. When it ripped its hand out, cold air from the outside began to seep in.

"If you can dodge like that, this fight will waste precious time," the creature stated. "I must be getting back to more urgent business. Chaos Control!" And with that it vanished.

**9:02 AM, March 7, 14012 AD**

**2 kilometers from Rail Canyon, United Federation of Mobius**

"Shadow?" Jonas asked.

"Yes?" Shadow replied in an annoyed tone.

"I just realized something about that strange creature we saw earlier. The type of Chaos Control it was using was different from normal Chaos Control. Did you notice it?"

"I did," Shadow replied. "It was using Time Travel Chaos Control, better known as Chronos Control. It can only work with four or more Emeralds, and it allows the user to warp time as well as space."

"That doesn't solve our problem of how we find and stop the First Evil," Silver said.

"But this Emerald does." Shadow held up the only Emerald they had left. It was surrounded by an extremely bright aura. "See how brightly it's glowing? It only does that if there's an extremely powerful Emerald cluster nearby. It must be the First Evil. It has five Emeralds now, which gives it more power, but also makes it easier for us to track."

"Must have been the way that the First found us," Sonic added.

"We've got no time to waste," stated Shadow. "We need to Chaos Control ourselves to the First's location. It's the only way to reach it in time."

"Shadow, are you sure that's safe?" asked Silver. "Trying to Chaos Control four people with only one Emerald?"

"It may not be completely safe," came the reply. "But it's a chance we'll have to take. We have to get to the First and stop it before it's too late."

**9:04 AM, March 7, 14012 AD**

**Angel Island, United Federation of Mobius**

**After the group has arrived safely on the tropical paradise**

"You're too late, Sonic!" the First exclaimed. Jonas noticed that it had not five, not six, but seven Emeralds hovering around it. "I have all the Emeralds I need. Now nothing can stop me from achieving my true form!"

"You can achieve that with only seven Emeralds?" asked Sonic, confused.

The First Evil plucked one of the Emeralds out of the air, then raised it above its head. Immediately, the Emerald in Jonas' grasp vanished. A few seconds later, it reappeared, hovering around the First.

"I can't transform with only seven Emeralds. But now I have more," the First replied. "Now, pathetic hedgehogs—he glanced at Jonas—and pathetic human, you shall now bear witness to the raw power of CHAOS!"

The Emeralds glowed more brightly than ever before as a tremendous blast of energy, centered on the First, appeared between them. After a few seconds, they fell to the ground, their negative energies drained. Meanwhile, the First Evil began laughing maniacally. The cackle shook the ground of the island, causing enormous tsunamis to spread out in giant circular ripples of death. Nearby trees flattened and were swept away as the blast of energy spread out. Inside the blast, the silhouette of the First was changing shape and size. It grew upward until it was at least forty feet tall, then fifty, then so tall it almost completely blocked out the sun. The First's quills grew longer and stood on their ends, its arms became more muscular, and its legs grew longer in proportion to its torso. After about ten seconds of the nightmarish transformation, its eyes began glowing a deep red, and the transformation energy surrounding the First dissipated.

Now sixty feet tall, purple-furred, with blood-red irises and a nightmarish face, the First spoke.

"_**At last… it is complete.**__"_ It directed its attention to the tiny beings down below, each no more massive than one of its toes. "_**For the last moments of your life, you may refer to me as 'The Perfect First Evil.**__'"_ Its voice was noticeably deeper and raspier.

"I won't let you get away with this!" Sonic exclaimed.

"_**I doubt you have any choice,**__"_ replied the First. It was incredibly confident that its power would be enough to put an end to these puny hedgehogs when it saw something blue flash beside it. It whipped its head around to find that the Emeralds were gone. He turned his head forward once more to see that they were hovering around Sonic.

"_**What? How did you…**_" gasped the First. He wasn't about to let this weakling put an end to him.

Sonic grinned as a similar blast of energy enveloped him. The Emeralds once more fell as their positive energy was depleted. Jonas turned his attention back to Sonic himself. His quills stood on end, his eyes glowed bright green, and he was covered by a yellow aura as he rose into the air. When the positive energy cleared, Sonic was glowing with incredible brightness, brightness that should have belonged to a star. His hands clenched into fists, his eyes narrowed, he truly looked formidable enough to combat the Perfect First.

"Perfect…Sonic?" Jonas asked.

"No," Silver replied. "Super Sonic."

…

Sonic hit the ground, unmoving. His aura was gone, his eyes no longer glowed. He was covered with bloody scratches, like something out of the worst war memory Jonas had ever Received. Jonas was surprised that it had happened so easily. Super Sonic was pounding the First with all sorts of punches, kicks, and energy blasts, and the First Evil could neither dodge nor grab the fast, agile hedgehog. But the First had the upper hand in terms of raw power. It let loose a shockwave of energy that spread out from its hands, and even the Fastest Thing Alive couldn't dodge it. He was knocked out of his super-form and sent him crashing down, which knocked him out, period.

"Sonic? Sonic!" Shadow yelled. He was crouching over the broken body, feeling its pulse. There was none.

Shadow turned his attention to the First Evil. "You… YOU'LL PAY FOR THIS!" He yelled.

"_**And what is a weakling like you going to do?**_" taunted the First.

Shadow did not reply. Drawing power from the Emeralds, he ascended into the air. His eyes lost their pupils and irises, his quills spread out around his head, and a red aura enveloped him. He glared at the First with an incredible hatred.

"_**Dark Super Shadow?**_" questioned the First. "_**How pathetic.**_"

Once again, Shadow did not reply. He merely flew upwards, grabbing an Emerald along the way. He flew up next to the First Evil's face; the Emerald raised, and shouted, "Chaos Blast!"

A nova of dark energy exploded from Shadow, knocking down everything within a half-kilometer radius. Everything except the First, that is.

Shadow crashed to the ground, knocked out of his Dark form. He was sweating, and his quills were matted. "Just… who are you?" he gasped.

"**I **_**am the ultimate lifeform**_!" the First exclaimed. He kicked Shadow over next to Sonic, where he fell unconscious. Neither one seemed to generate any body heat. Jonas could tell by feeling their chests.

"Silver. Chaos Control to the spot directly in front of me _right now!_" yelled Jonas.

"Why?" asked Silver. He noticed that Jonas' pupils and irises were fading.

"Just do it!" Jonas snapped.

"Alright… here goes. Chaos Control…." Silver noticed that Jonas was holding an Emerald and focusing on the same spot. "Wait, Jonas! You'll…" Silver tried to finish the sentence, but it was too late. He and Jonas were already fading partway into existence once more.

Wait… now they were fully re-formed.

On the same…

Exact…

Spot.

A few seconds later…

Barely alive, Sonic opened his eyes. He saw a strange being standing where Jonas was a few seconds ago. With a gasp, which made him cough up blood, Sonic realized that he recognized the being.

_It's the strange, Chronos-controlling hedgehog. With a few differences, but still recognizable._

The being opened its eyes and lifted its head toward the First Evil. Even though it was surrounded by a Dark aura, its pupils and irises were visible and its eyelids were opaque.

"_**Who are you?**_" asked the First. "_**Are you Silver or Jonas?**_"

The being spoke. When it did, both Silver and Jonas' voices emerged from its mouth, speaking simultaneously.

"I am the future and the past."

"I am telepathy and telekinesis."

"I am the most incredible fusion to ever walk Mobius."

"I am Dark Super Sv-Js the Hedgehog."

**TO BE CONCLUDED**


	6. The Cataclysmic Finale

**9:13 AM, March 7, 14012 AD**

**Angel Island, United Federation of Mobius**

**Currently under attack by the evil forces of the First Evil**

"_**I must admit that your unification trick was quite impressive,**_" replied the First Evil. "_**But if you actually think that it will be enough to defeat me, then you have made a deadly mistake.**_"

"Wanna bet?" retorted Sv-Js. He launched himself through the air, surrounding himself with a conical field of energy. He struck the First like a spear right between the eyes, sending the First stumbling backwards. He landed on his behind, crushing several trees and a small hill.

__"_**Is that all you can do?**_" the First asked rhetorically. He lashed out with a darkness-charged punch, hitting Sv-Js and knocking him out of the sky, burning a neat and smoking hole in the ground of the island.

"Come and find out what else I have up my sleeve," replied Sv-Js. He rocketed toward the First at a speed that was literally faster than sound. The First charged his entire body with darkness and ran equally fast at Sv-Js, every step flattening several square feet of soil and rock.

The battle that followed was truly a ferocious one. The First would fire blasts, spheres, and even lightning bolts of pure dark energy, which Sv-Js would nimbly dodge, usually by teleporting a few feet to one side. He would then counter-attack by using his telekinesis to rip large sections of the coast out of the ground and hurl them at the First's head and torso. The First would his immense strength to swat the chunk away, and the fight would continue. Sv-Js was rocketing through the air, waiting until the First's back was turned and then using his conical-field-of-energy attack. The First, at the same time, was transforming parts of his body into darkness and lashing them out at the fused hedgehog. And the Chaos powers. Oh, the Chaos Powers. With all eight Emeralds so close to the two combatants, they could feel free to exploit the Emeralds' powers to attempt to down the other.

"Chaos Spear!"

"_**Chaos Blast!"**_

"Chaos Rocket!"

"_**Chaos Punishment!"**_

"Chaos Spin!"

"_**Chaos Warp!"**_

And on and on in a similar fashion. Eventually, though, the First gained the upper hand. He transformed his entire body into darkness, throwing himself at Sv-Js, dealing serious damage. Sv-Js' conical field was shattered, his energy was running down, and his powers were useless. Besides, he couldn't strike a being of pure negative energy without being hurt himself.

Now the First wasn't even trying to take humanoid form. It was an insanely large mass of dark energy now, sending out twisted versions of Chaos Blasts and Chaos Spears from all sides. In his weakened state, Sv-Js couldn't even dodge very well. He only lasted about fifteen seconds more before he collapsed on the ripped-up coastline.

"Sv-Js…" Sonic called out. "It's no use… Your Dark Super-Form is useless against a being of negative energy. Use the positive energy… use the love, not the hate…" Sonic slipped into unconsciousness once more.

_**"Now you see,"**_ the First cackled. _**"Now you see why I cannot be defeated. I am the ultimate evil, and nothing can stand in my way!"**_

Sv-Js said nothing. His Dark aura faded, and he closed his eyes, as if accepting defeat.

_**"What? You're just giving up? I like my victims with more 'I'll never give up!' before I show them how wrong they were by squashing them like insects."**_

__Sv-Js thought for a second, then mumbled, "I choose love."

_**"What was that?"**_ said the First. There was a tone of fright in his voice.

"I choose love!" Sv-Js repeated, this time loud enough for everyone to hear. "I am a _Light_ Super-Form!" Sv-Js rose up once more, this time surrounded by a golden positive aura. He opened his eyes, and they were glowing a brilliant green. His quills, previously drooping and spiked, now rose up into the air, as if they were floating. His hands began pulsing with power.

"_**Son of a…"**_cursed the First Evil. He was immediately knocked back by a shockwave of energy coming from Super Sv-Js.

"Chaos… Regeneration!" yelled Sv-Js. He pointed himself at Sonic and Shadow. Immediately their wounds started to close.

"As for you…" Sv-Js directed his attention toward the First. Hands raised, he wiggled his index finger, as if he was beckoning. A ball of Chaos Energy emerged from the First's chest. It split into eight balls, which began orbiting Sv-Js. Immediately the First's muzzle changed back to a tan color, his irises became yellow once more, his gloves and boots lost their jet-black covering, and he shrunk back to the normal size of a hedgehog.

"No! I will not let this happen!" exclaimed the First, no longer Perfect.

"Too late," replied Sv-Js. He absorbed the balls of Chaos Energy orbiting him and immediately began to glow with a blinding light. His quills lost their color entirely and became a dazzling white, and his eyes began to flash the colors of the Emeralds.

"Hyper… Sv-Js?" the First questioned.

"That's right," replied Sv-Js. When he spoke, it sounded like eight copies of each of his components were speaking at once. "And no more you." He flew down and placed his hands on the First's back.

"No! You can't be doing this!" yelled the First. Immediately he began glowing with the same light as Sv-Js, but more harsh, as if the light itself were crushing the being who glowed with it. "AAAH!…." yelled the First as pure positive energy caused him to dissipate and scatter himself throughout all the dimensions like so many forgotten memories.

Sv-Js picked up four Chaos Emeralds. In his loudest speaking voice(s), he said, "The First is defeated. But in order to prevent a time paradox, I must go back in time with these Emeralds and perform the actions that we saw me perform. Chronos Control!"

And in a flash, he was gone.

…

Traveling through time and space to keep the continuum intact was a cinch for Hyper Sv-Js. He gave one of his components the memories that would help prepare him for the final battle, though he did have to push past Sonic and Shadow to do it. He used his Emeralds to help cause the Chaos Blast that brought awareness to the population of the Community. And when it was done, he returned himself to the site of the fallen bicycle and teleported himself to two places at once, splitting him up into Jonas and Hyper Silver. And with that task completed, both of his components could rest, knowing that the world had been saved once more.

**12:50 AM, November 17, 2661**

**5.3 kilometers from the edge of the Community**

Jonas awoke next to the fallen bicycle. He sat up, aching, and checked himself over for injuries. Apparently, Sv-Js had not suffered anything in the battle that Chaos Regeneration couldn't fix. He saw Gabe lying on the ground next to him, glowing with the aura that indicated recent use of Chaos Control. He figured that Amy and Whatshername the rabbit returned him after the adventure was complete. Strapping Gabe into the child seat, climbing aboard the bicycle, he began pedaling. But it was not away from the Community that he rode, but towards it. He had found Elsewhere, and it appeared to be a wonderful place to live. This kind of information should also be open to the population, should they decide to make contact with Elsewhere someday. He knew for sure that was possible because of the gem that Sv-Js had left lying on the pavement. He clutched it as if it could disappear any moment.

_But, since I'm holding it, I'll disappear along with it, _Jonas thought to himself, amusing himself with the idea as he rode back towards his home.

…

And all that time, the Processor, the machine designed to assist in holding the memories, was watching. Watching and analyzing. And a hedgehog-like figure, covered with spiky crystalline quills, was watching an output screen behind it.

_Perfect, _it thought to itself. _With this data, Solaris will live once more._

**THE END…?**

…

Sonic, Shadow, Silver, Amy, and Cream © to Sega and Sonic Team.

Jonas, Gabe, Lily, and the Community © to Lois Lowry.


End file.
